Shame, Fame-All in the Game

It’s a season of shame for Indian sports!!

This time it is not the overated, well-heeled cricketers who found their way to the hall of shame but athletes, mostly women.

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Nearly eight Indian athletes have failed the dope test–by testing positive for banned substances. The prominent ones include Sini Jose, Mandeep Kaur, Tiana Mary Thomas, Priyanka Panwar and Ashwini Akkunji.

Ashwini Akkunji and Priyanka Panwar were to be part of the 4x400m relay team at the Asian Championships that is currently happening in Japan. Now two other athletes will take their place. The 37-member Indian contingent has left for Kobe in Japan without these tainted women.

The athletes have been summoned by National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) and will be facing a panel in Delhi besides undergoing ‘B sample’ tests.

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Some of the substances that they have tested positive for include stanzolol, methandienone, epimethandiol and other anabolic steroids.

Of particular interest is the case of Sini Jose, who was a member of the Indian quartet that won a gold for 4x400m relay in the Commonwealth games and the Asian Games. Sini has been suspended for the abuse of anabolic steroids.

The golden quartet comprising of Mandeep kaur, manjeet kaur, sinimol jose and ashwini were the toast of the nation when they won the gold in the 2010 commonwealth games in New Delhi and later repeated their sterling performance at the Asian Games in China.

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These girls who were from rural background made every Indian proud of their dedication and achievements.

Therefore, it came as a huge shock when they fell into the dope net and tarnished Indian sports forever.

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Even the British media seem shocked over the shame involving India's golden girls. "That landmark success of Indian women's 4x400m relay team in the CWG & Asian Games has been tarnished with the news that three of the four members of the team have failed drug tests over the last few days," it reported.

As part of this disaster mitigation mission Ajay Makken the sports minister of India has sacked Yuri Ogorodonik, the national track and field coach, who was instrumental in training the six suspended 400 m runners.

“It’s happened out of sheer ignorance on the part of the athletes, who are generally from rural areas, or not very highly educated,” says India’s sports minister Ajay Maken.

Innocent??

Ashwini Akkunji claims she is innocent. “I will prove it. I won’t let my years of blood and sweat be tainted, ”she says.

Ashwini has tested positive for the performance enhancing methandienone, a drug that functions like testosterone.

The story of women ‘empowerment’ especially in the field of sports in the recent past has raised a few eyebrows. Even the media had previously reported on a few excesses both on and off the track --of a broken vial seen in an athlete’s dressing room or that of a stray syringe in another, but up until now the offenders have managed to dodge the net.

When Best Is Not Enough

Perhaps it is here we need to take a peek at the 2009 confessional autobiography of British sprinter Dwain Chambers called “Race Against Me: My story.”

When Chambers found that his best was not good enough to beat his American competitors he found refuge in tetrahydrogestrinone ( THG), a performance-enhancing drug. When tested positive for THG, he had to serve a two-year ban and continues to be ostracised from European athletics meetings. The slur to his character remains.

Modern day athletes are smart go-getters and not naive as projected by Makken. Their fast leap to glory in a short span of time, particularly after the arrival of east –European coaches have indeed been very surprising!

Emerging evidence points to a silent conspiracy between India’s sports establishment and the athletes.

In the midst of all this the nation suffers the ignominy while India’s dream of track and field Olympic medals may always remain a dream..!

Source-Medindia